Dilnot Commission

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Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt has announced plans to cap bills for long-term care in old age at £75,000 in England, in a £1 billion move to be funded by dragging more people into the inheritance tax net.

Campaigners voiced disappointment at the level of the cap - more than double the £35,000 recommended by the independent Dilnot Commission in 2011.

Andrew Dilnot, who chaired the independent commission set up by the Government to examine the funding of elderly care, has said the Coalition's planned changes will reduce the "anxiety" at covering costs in later life.

Mr Dilnot described the current system as a "complete disaster".

Speaking on BBC Radio 4's Today programme, he said he "regretted" the Government's expected new cap of £75,000 on the costs people pay for care, having recommended £35,000, but said he accepted public finances are in a "pretty tricky state".

He said the proposals, set to be announced later by Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt, mean "for the first time you don't have to be terrified of needing care".

He said the changes meant people "are effectively insured by the state, which should make them feel much more comfortable".

Today, the government is expected to announce a cap on how much people pay to be looked after in old age.

If it goes ahead it means pensioners will not pay more than £75,000 towards the cost of their care.

Dot Gibson from the National Pensioners Convention spoke to ITV Daybreak, she said: "We should have a system whereby we all pay into a national care system, and everybody benefits at the end of the day."